The morning light stretched long shadows across the sidewalk as Maya walked beside Damien, the quiet between them saying everything they didn't. She wasn't sure how to define the night before -- just that it had changed something in her. Or maybe made her feel seen for the first time in weeks. There was no fanfare in the way he walked her back, no dramatic confessions, just steady silence and the occasional glance that told her he was present.
When they reached the edge of campus, Damien slowed.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked, voice low.
She nodded. "Yeah."
A beat of quiet passed.
"Thanks… for letting me crash," she added, realizing how weird it sounded now in daylight.
But Damien just gave a small nod, barely a shift of his head. "Don't overthink it."
And with that, he turned and walked off, shoulders slightly hunched like he was already elsewhere.
Maya stood there for a moment longer, then made her way toward her dorm, nerves beginning to tighten in her chest.
Tessa was going to kill her.
---
"You're alive," came Tessa's voice the second Maya pushed open the dorm room door.
Maya found her best friend perched on the desk chair, hair wrapped in a lazy bun, one leg draped dramatically over the other like she was expecting to interrogate her.
"You called," Maya said simply, toeing off her shoes.
"Uh-huh. At midnight. To tell me you were 'fine' and that I shouldn't freak out. What do you think I've been doing for the past ten hours?"
Maya flopped onto her bed. "Freaking out?"
Tessa narrowed her eyes. "Girl, you spent the night at Damien's place. Damien 'stone-face, sexy-sad-eyes, no-one-knows-where-he-lives' King. And all I got was a cryptic call and radio silence? You owe me."
Maya turned to face her. "Nothing happened."
"That's what people always say before telling me everything happened."
"I'm serious. We just… talked. Ate. He let me stay over because the dorms were locked."
Tessa tilted her head, unconvinced. "You're telling me you spent the night at a guy's apartment -- his apartment -- and nothing happened?"
Maya raised a brow. "I'm telling you we talked. Slept. That's it."
Tessa snorted. "You're lucky I believe you. Barely."
"Not everyone thinks with their hormones, Tess."
"Yeah, yeah," Tessa waved her off, then leaned in with a grin. "But you liked being there, didn't you?"
Maya didn't answer. Her silence said enough.
---
The days that followed blurred together.
Maya buried herself in routine -- classes, quick meals, early nights. She didn't reach out to Logan. Didn't look for him either. Whatever clarity she thought she'd found in that storage room, it had faded the moment she stepped back into the real world. Every now and then, her mind drifted back to that moment -- his face so close, his voice low, the crackling heat of almost kissing him. A moment that never got to become anything real.
Maybe that was a good thing.
But even good things had a way of haunting you.
---
A week later, she saw him.
It was completely accidental -- just bad timing. Maya had stepped out of the library, tucking her phone into her pocket, when her eyes caught the unmistakable figure of Logan across the quad.
And beside him, curled close like she belonged there, was Brielle.
They weren't doing anything scandalous -- just sitting on a bench, talking. But Brielle's hand was on his arm. Her head tipped back as she laughed, perfectly timed, like she knew how to make moments look effortless. And Logan… he was smiling. Not the forced kind he wore in front of people, but something more natural. Easy.
Comfortable.
Maya froze mid-step.
Her stomach dropped, the breath catching in her chest. That stupid pang -- that sharp, quiet ache -- hit her harder than it should have. It wasn't jealousy. It was the betrayal of hope. The sting of remembering how convinced she'd been when he told her he still wanted her. That he was going to end things with Brielle. That it had meant something when he leaned in, when their breaths mingled, when it felt like maybe -- just maybe -- things were coming full circle.
Now, she just felt stupid.
She turned and walked the long way around the quad.
---
That night, she sat on her bed, legs tucked beneath her, staring at her phone. Her reflection in the dark screen stared back -- tired, quiet, small.
Tessa looked up from her laptop and noticed immediately.
"You've been sulking since dinner. Spill it."
Maya hesitated.
"I saw Logan today."
Tessa's eyes narrowed. "With her?"
Maya nodded.
Tessa slammed her laptop shut and swung around in her chair. "Tell me you didn't talk to him."
"I didn't."
"Then what happened?"
Maya took a breath. "Back in the storage room… he told me he still liked me. That he was going to break up with Brielle."
Tessa blinked. "What?"
"He said he missed me"
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to," Maya whispered. "He leaned in. We almost kissed. And then Damien showed up, and… it stopped."
Tessa stared at her for a long moment. "You've been carrying that for a week?"
"I thought he'd follow through. I thought… it meant something."
Tessa's expression twisted into something sharp. Protective. Angry.
"That little shit."
"I don't need you to..."
"No. I'm gonna say it. He made you feel like you were still his. Like he was going to fix things. And now he's playing house with Brielle like none of it happened?"
Maya didn't reply.
Tessa stood up and walked over, standing in front of her with arms crossed.
"You're not stupid, Maya. You're hopeful. And he used that."
Maya's throat tightened. "I hate that it still hurts."
"That's because you cared. And there's no shame in that. But what you don't get to do is keep sitting here letting it eat you up."
Maya gave a weak smile. "So what, I move on just like that?"
"No," Tessa said with a glint in her eye. "You move on with fire. And a dress that makes boys forget their own names."
Maya blinked. "Tess…"
"You are coming to the semester-end party."
"I don't know…"
"I do. You need a reset. A reminder that Logan isn't the only guy on earth. You're a sophomore, which means we're about to level up, and what better way to celebrate than dancing your heartbreak away?"
Maya groaned. "Tessa..."
"Nope. Not negotiable."
"I'm not in the mood to flirt."
"Then don't flirt. Just look hot and dance. And maybe -- maybe -- let someone else flirt with you for a change."
Maya gave her a skeptical look.
Tessa smirked. "Because, as I've always said… the best way to get over a guy is to get under another one."
Maya burst into laughter despite herself, covering her face.
"God, you're horrible."
"I'm effective," Tessa corrected. "And next Friday, you're wearing something short, you're showing up with me, and you're leaving Logan's memory in the dust."
Maya didn't argue this time.
She was tired of feeling small.
Tired of waiting for people to choose her.
Maybe it was time to choose herself instead.